David Goffin earns Martina Navratilova's praise on his birthday

David Goffin celebrated his 32nd birthday on Wednesday, December 7. Reacting to a video shared by Davis Cup, former World No. 1 and 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova heaped praise on the Belgian star for one of his unusual shots from an old match.

The doubles encounter from the 2015 Davis Cup finals saw Belgium's Goffin and Steve Darcis take on Andy Murray and Jamie Murray of Great Britain. The four players produced an extraordinary moment during the fourth and final set of the match, with Goffin hitting a phenomenal backhand volley before ending the point with a two-handed backhand that went past Andy Murray.

Navratilova was in awe of the entire rally but made special mention of Goffin's backhand volley.

"What a rally! That backhand volley stab was amazing," Navratilova tweeted.

The Murray brothers went on to win the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Andy Murray later defeated Goffin in a singles match to clinch Great Britain's first Davis Cup trophy in 79 years. While they have won the tournament a total of 10 times, Belgium are yet to open their account.

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David Goffin-Rafael Nadal's Madrid clash ranks second in ATP's best matches of 2022

Rafael Nadal (L) and David Goffin

David Goffin ended his 2022 season in October with a first-round loss against Serbia's Laslo Dere at the Paris Masters. The World No. 53 finished with a win-loss record of 27-26, winning his only title at the ATP 250 Grand Prix Hassan II in Morocco.

A few days ago, the ATP made public a list of the five best matches of 2022, Grand Slams excluded. Goffin's third-round match against Rafael Nadal at the ATP 1000 Madrid Open slot into the second position, just behind Carlos Alcaraz's semifinal triumph over Novak Djokovic in the same tournament.

Including two qualifiers, Goffin won four consecutive straight-set matches to set up a meeting with the five-time Madrid Open champion in the third round. It was Nadal's only second match in over a month after he suffered a fractured rib during the Indian Wells Masters. Playing on his favorite surface (clay), the Spaniard was in the driver's seat, having won the first set 6-3 and leading 5-3 in the second.

However, David Goffin fought back and won four straight games to force a deciding set. The Belgian was in a relatively better position in the third-set tiebreak after having four chances to close out the match. But the 22-time Grand Slam champion didn't give up and saved all four match points to win the match 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(9).

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